Conductor support



April 1940- R. R. PITTMAN ET AL 2,198,339

CONDUCTOR SUPPORT Filed Jan. 23, 1959 INVENTORS @mm W/KMZ;

Patented Apr. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES CONDUCTOR SUPPORT Ralph a. Pittmanand Carroll H. Walsh, Pine Bluff, Ark.

Application January 23, 1939, Serial No. 252,323

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to conductor supports, and particularlyto a support adapted for supporting an uninsulated conductor normallyoperating a ground potential.

More specifically, the invention relates to a support having a pivotallymounted cradle for receiving the conductor, so that the cradle may movein response to vertical vibration of the conductor, and thereby preventbending and sub- 10 sequent fracture of the conductor near the support.Supports'which function in the way are not new, but available supportsof this character are provided with a clamp for tightly compressing theconductor. Since the material of the clamp 1 members, for reasons ofstrength and economy, is steel or malleable iron, and the conductor isgenerally of copper or aluminum, the softer conductors are often damagedwhen clamped in place.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a conductor supportembodying a cradle arranged for rocking movement in a vertical plane,having means for accommodating a tie wire for fastening the conductor tothe cradle so that 25 the assembly comprising the cradle, conductor andtie wire may rock about a pivotal mounting in response to verticalvibration of the conductor.

A further object is the provision of a rocking, type of uninsulatedconductor support having a minimum number of parts, which may bedirectly attached to pole or other supporting structures, and which isof improved construction and operation.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, our invention resides in the combination,construction and arrangement of parts exemplified in the accompanyingdrawing and described in the following specification, and the scope ofthe invention is particularly pointed out on the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of an embodiment of the present invention, shownpartly in section.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the invention also shown partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view showing one arrangement of aconductor and tie wire in the service position on the support.

It may be seen from the drawing that our support consists of two partsor pieces, a base I and a cradle IS. The base l0 includes the verticallyextending mounting portion II, the portion l2 extending outwardly fromthe top of the portion II, and an upstanding portion I3, the latterbeing bifurcated at its upper end, and the ends of the bifurcationsprovided with a pair of axially aligned inwardly extending spacedpintles I4 and I5. An opening 26 is provided for cooperating with afastening element for mounting the support on a pole.

The cradle I6 is provided with 'a pair of lateral- 1y spaced pockets It,which extend upwardly into the cradle midway between its ends, and whichare arranged to nest over the pintles l4 and I5 to pivotally support thecradle IE on the base Ill. The axis of pivotal movement of the cradle ISwith respect to the base H1 is substantially in horizontal alignmentwith the axis of the conductor 24 when the latter is positioned in thelongitudinally: extending conductor-receiving groove NJ, as shown inFig. 3.

The end portions and 2| of the cradle I6 extend downwardly a substantialdistance below the bottom of the conductor-receivinggroove iii, inspaced relationship with the base l0, and have first inwardly and thenoutwardly curved portions forming a tie wire groove 22. As shown in Fig.3, the conductor 24 may be secured tothe cradle 16- by means of the tiewire 25, the latter being fastened to the conductor 24 and extendingaround the cradle l6 below the bottom of the conductorreceiving grooveI9 and the pintles l4 and I5, and bearing on the inwardly and downwardlysloping surfaces of the end portions 20 and 2|. This arrangement enablesthe conductor 24 to be pulled tightly against the bottom of theconductor-receiving groove l9 by the tie wire 25. The convolutions ofthe tie wire 25 span the spaces between the end portions 20 and 2|, andare spaced from the upstanding portion l3 to avoid frictional engagementof these members.

From the above description, it will be seen that the assembly consistingof the cradle Hi, the conductor 24, and the tie wire 25 are free to rockupon the pintles l4 and IS in response to vertical vibrations of theconductor 24, within the limits permitted by the spacing of the lowerends of the end portions 20 and 2| from the up standing portion l3.

While the cradle rests by gravity on the pintles, the contour of theconductor extending beyond the support may be such as to cause uplift onthe cradle, tending to lift the cradle from the base. To avoid thisoccurrence, and for the further reason of convenience in shipping andhan. dling, an outwardly extending portion 23 of the cradle I6 ispositioned to engage the lower surface of the outer end of the pintle I4in response to an upward movement of the cradle. The low er surface ofthe portion 23 is preferably sloped inwardly and downwardly, so that thepintles are sprung apart sufficiently to permit attachment of the cradlewhen the portion 23 is pressed downwardly on the pintle.

This conductor support requires only two parts for its assembly,compared to the five to seven parts required in supports embodyingbolted fasteners for attaching the conductor to the cradle. The pivotalmounting permits vertical motion of the conductor at the point where itleaves the support, thereby avoiding bending and consequent fatiguefracture of the conductor. The material of the tie wire is preferablythe same as that of the conductor which it engages.

We realize that other embodiments of our invention will be apparent fromthe specific description of the particular embodiment recited herein,and we wish it to be understood that our invention is to be limited onlyas may be necessitated by the prior art and the appended claims.

We claim, as our invention:

1. A two-part conductor support having a base and ,a cradle pivotallymounted thereon, said cradle having a conductor-receiving grooveextending across the top thereof and downwardly extending end portionshaving inwardly and downwardly curved external surfaces for providing abearing surface for engaging a tie wire which is fastened to theconductor.

2. A two-part conductor support having a base and a cradle pivotallymounted thereon, said cradle having a conductor-receiving grooveextending across the top thereof, the end portions of said cradleextending downwardly, and the downwardly extending end portions havingin wardly and downwardly sloped surfaces to provide a bearing surfacefor a tie wire which is fastened to the conductor and wrapped aroundsaid end portions.

3. A two-part conductor support having a base, a pair of axially alignedinwardly extending spaced pintles formed on said base portion, and acradle pivotally mounted on said pintles, said cradle having aconductor-receiving groove extending across the top thereof, and meansformed integral with said cradle for fastening said cradle to saidpintles, said cradle having its respective ends extending downwardlybelow said groove, said end portions having inwardly and downwardlysloped external surfaces forming a bearing surface at the ends of saidcradle for engaging a tie wire which is fastened to said conductor.

4. A two-part conductor support comprising a base portion, a portionintegral with said base portion extending outwardly therefrom, and a.pair of axially aligned pintles formed integrally with the outwardlyextending portion, a cradle mounted for rocking movement on saidpintles, said cradle having a conductor-receiving groove extendinglongitudinally across the top thereof and end portions having inwardlyand downwardly curved external surfaces which provide a seating surfacefor a tie wire fastened to the conductor.

5. A two-part conductor support comprising an upstanding portion havinga pair of axially aligned inwardly extending pintles, aconductorreceiving cradle having pockets engaging said pintles andarranged for rocking movement thereon, and means formed integral withsaid cradle for fastening said cradle to said upstanding portion, saidcradle having portions extending downwardly from said pockets, andinwardly extending grooves in the downwardly extending portions forreceiving a tie wire.

6. A two-part conductor support consisting of an upstanding portion anda cradle pivotally mounted thereon, and means integral with said cradlefor fastening said cradle to said base portion, said cradle having aportion extending downwardly along said upstanding portion in spacedrelationship therewith, and a horizontally positioned peripheral grooveextending inwardly along the downwardly extending portion of saidcradle.

RALPH R. PITTMAN. CARROLL H. WALSH.

